If oil is a limited resource and plastic comes from oil,how are we not facing a plastic shortage?
In: 23
Only a small part of the world oil production is used for plastic. So all the efforts reducing oil consumption have been aimed at reducing burning oil for energy rather then reducing plastic production. And while the price of plastic is strictly speaking increasing with increasing oil prices most of the cost of plastic is in processing it rather then the raw materials. So the increase in cost is small compared to the price of the finished plastic.
In addition to this plastic is made from oil because that is the cheapest source of hydrocarbons. Before mass pumping of oil plastic were made from plant materials as it was cheaper. Some plastics are even easier to make from plants such as cellophane and PLA. But in general all plastics can be made from plants or even from captured carbon dioxide. It is just more expensive.
Latest Answers